A Quick Intro to the Toyota Tundra Supercharger

Here are the official specs for TRD's new supercharger for the Toyota Tundra: it adds 504 HP, 550 lb-ft of torque, and list price for the entire kit is $5,875. The total cost, including installation, will be around $6,800, if based on a labor rate of $105 an hour.

The 5.7-liter TRD supercharger is rooted in truly intelligent design. TRD's horsepower/torque pushers have been used for the 2000-03 Tundra, V-6 Tacoma, the Camry Solara, the Scion tC, and more. It was only a matter of time, Tundra fans knew, before the brains at TRD approached the redesigned '07 Tundra. Their dream came true at the November 2007 Specialty Equipment Marketing Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, where a concept Tundra Double Cab was showing off a supercharger and air-to-liquid intercooler generating 500 horsepower. The Toyota display vehicle was attached to a 10 200 pound gooseneck car hauler to show off its powerful muscle.

TRD's new Tundra supercharger is an Eaton-Roots, or positive displacement, type of supercharger. Interesting fact: the technology was first patented in 1860, when Philander and Francis Roots developed it to ventilate mine shafts. Auto manufacturers looking to improve engine performance had two options: increase engine size or engine efficiency. Efficiency was the obvious choice. Gottleib Daimler introduced blowers to auto engines in the early 1900s, and they had begun to appear in racecars and premium automotives by the 1920s. Eaton-Roots superchargers are popular because they are reliable, require little maintenance, and eliminate drag on the engine when its boost is not needed.

The Eaton's Twin Vortices System (TVS) is featured on the Tundra supercharger. It has twin four-lobe rotors with 160 degree twists, and improves air-handling while decreasing noise and vibration. The Tundra kit comes with 8 new high-flow fuel injectors, lower heat range iridium-tip spark plugs, and an intercooler, which reduces air inlet temperature to the engine and permits more aggressive ignition timing.

TRD's new high performance air intake, which is quite similar to the cold air intake kit offered as a standalone part, supplies the supercharger with its air. During the supercharger installation, the engine control unit (ECU) is reprogrammed with a new high performance engine management profile, which changes the engine timing and the transmission's shift points to maximize power. This allows the Tundra to use all the extra power which the supercharger provides, while maintaining 50 state emissions certifications.

Toyota estimates that it will take around 9 hours to install the TRD supercharger on a Tundra truck, and promises to honor the remainder of their 5yr/60k mile powertrain warranty, so long as installation is done by your local Toyota dealer. Given the quality and strong reputation of TRD's engineering, and Toyota's promise to honor the full warranty, adding the TRD supercharger to your Tundra should definitely be a safe improvement to make.

There's only one catch if you're hoping to buy your new Tundra with the supercharger. The TRD supercharger is only authorized to be retailed as a dealer installed or over-the-counter option AFTER the sale of a new Tundra. The supercharger and Tundra cannot be sold together at the same time, or financed together. Your local Toyota dealer may be able to find some sort of compromise or deal, but if you're determined to have a supercharger on your new Toyota Tundra, be prepared to fork over some cash.